Things Every Farmer or Gardener Should Know

Month: March 2017

Crop Heat Units (CHU), Grower Degree Days (GDD), or Thermal Time are all measures of heat units we use to measure physiological events in the life of plants and animals. These units can predict the leaf stages of corn, flowering of Cucurbits, and even when an insect will emerge from dormancy. Continue reading →

We are growing Barley this year. One major fungal issue with Barley is Loose Smut. It comes from the fungus Ustilago nuda, and can wipe out barley crops.

The fungus replaces the entire grain heads with a mass of black or brown fungal spores. There are no seeds to be harvested on these heads. You can usually pick these infected plants out because they are taller and mature faster than the rest of the field. The teliospores get transmitted to other grain heads where they infect the seeds through the flowering stigma, or directly through the ovaries. These teliospores give rise to basidiospores. These basidiospores germinate, and the mycelia invade the developing embryo in the seed. The fungus stays alive inside the seed until next season. Continue reading →

Anyone who has grown anything has at one time or another come in contact with some type of Aphid. There are over 4,400 species of Aphids worldwide, and are affectionately termed “plant lice”. Pea Aphids attack forage crops such as Peas, Alfalfa, and Clovers. They can take out a crop within a series of weeks due to their rapid expansion. Continue reading →

Last month, I gave a presentation regarding growing garlic to the Cypress Basin Master Gardeners in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. Attached are the slides from that presentation. I hope you find this helpful. Should you have any questions, please feel free to comment or message me.